The boy at the track

浙江杭州富阳区新登中学 胡君祥

作者在赛马场遇到的小男孩虽然接不到客人，但从不气馁，这深深触动了作者……

题材 体裁 文章词数 建议用时生活 记叙文 约420 8分钟

难词探意

1. aggressive /ə'ɡresɪv/ adj. 好斗的；有进取心的

2. quarter /'kwɔːtə(r)/ n.（美国和加拿大的）25分硬币

3. scramble /'skræmbl/ v. 攀登；爬；争夺；抢占

Many years ago I drove a taxi for extra money. I primarily worked in the east end of Toronto. It was back in the days when the Greenwood Racetrack was in operation. The track was a pretty lively place. Crowds of people were always streaming in and out. I did a lot of business down there, dropping off fares and picking them up. When I think of those days, I remember one particular summer about 30 years ago.

Each time a taxi drove up to the front of the track, a group of local kids would rush to the passenger door. One lucky kid, or to be more accurate, the mostaggressivekid, would open the passenger door and say “Good luck at the track, Mister!” People coming out of taxis always say thank you and throw coins to the kids.It was a routine.Sometimes the police would drive these kids away but they always came back a couple of hours later.

Throughout the summer, one kid caught my eye. He was bigger than most of them but he was even pushed away by the smallest of all the other kids. He never pushed back. In fact he would even step aside when others pushed forward. He was actually very polite among those aggressive children.Each time my cab drove up, it was a chance for the boy to open the door and say “Good luck, Mister! ” and then,he may get a quarter.This kid never stopped trying, although he never made it. He always got pushed aside. But he never gave up.

Then one day his chance arrived. As I was pulling up to the sidewalk, all the kids werescramblingfor a cab that had arrived just ahead of mine.They didn't notice me pulling up.The boy saw me and walked toward my cab.As I pulled up, I made sure to position the passenger door right beside him. He opened the passenger door and said to the man getting out,“Good luck at the track, Mister! ” But the man who got out of my cab did not say thanks. He did not throw a quarter to him. He said, “Get out of my way, kid! ” and then pushed him aside so hard that the boy fell on the sidewalk and I knew it hurt him seriously.

I was out of the cab in less than 10 seconds but I knew I would never find the man that pushed this boy down. He was gone in the crowd.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult words in sentences

1. Good luck at thetrack, Mister!

译文：祝你在赛道上好运，先生！

分析：本句中，track意为“赛道”，指赛马场里的赛道。

2. It was aroutine.

译文：这是惯例。

分析：本句的关键词是“routine”, 意为“惯例；例行程序”。

Ⅱ. Useful sentence patterns

1. Each time my cab drove up,it was a chance for the boy to open the door and say “Good luck,Mister! ”and then he may get a quarter.

分析：本句中，each time是连词短语，意为“每次”，引导时间状语从句。

2. They didn't notice me pulling up.

分析：本句中，notice后接复合宾语，me是宾语，pulling up是宾语补足语，意为“停车”。

Reading Check

阅读上面的文章，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。注意：

1. 续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

Paragraph 1：

So I looked for the kid._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2：

The kid was walking the opposite way.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

写作导引

一、分析语篇，理清要素

要想续写内容与所给材料内容连贯、衔接紧密，就必须充分了解所给材料的大意。 本文是一篇记叙文，文章分析如下：

二、阅读续写开头语，展开合理想象

基于原文和续写段落首句提供的信息，我们可以构思要续写的故事情节。 这一构思可分为四步：

第一步，根据已给出的内容判断文章的立意。

根据本文第三段的 “This kid never stopped trying, although he never made it. He always got pushed aside. But he never gave up.” 可推断出本文很可能是要告诉我们： 遇到挫折时要坦然面对，不要气馁。

第二步，围绕续写第一段所给出的段首句进行提问构思：

（1）Why did the author look for the kid?

（2）How did the author look for the kid?

（3）Did the author find the kid in the end?

（4）What would happen when the author finally found the kid?

第三步，根据续写第二段所给出的段首句倒推续写第一段一定要写什么。

分析第二段所给出的段首句“The kid was walking the opposite way.”可知：续写第一段肯定要写作者寻找小男孩无果而终。 如此构思能确保续写的两段是能互相衔接上的。

第四步，围绕续写第二段所给出的段首句进行提问构思：

（1）What does it mean that the kid was walking the opposite way?

（2）How would the author feel while the boy was walking the opposite way?

三、润色成篇

在续写的过程中要注意衔接的问题，做到情节连贯，语言风格一致。按衔接的部位来分有三种：

（1）两段的续写与所给短文的衔接。

（2）每段的续写与续写段落首句之间的衔接。

（3）续写的两段之间的衔接。

同时要注意语法、句型，以及所用词的准确性。